The Payoff to being Observant
by LayDCardinal
Summary: Ginny made the bet and will collect on her friends happiness. She saw more then her friends gave her credit for. HG/VK. Little bit of Ron bashing, but not much.


Disclaimer: Not mine, enjoy the money JK.

Author Notes: A one shot.

Ginny watched her brother make a fool of himself for years over the woman, and he was doing it again today. Not that it wasn't highly, highly entertaining, but the more he did it the more she started to just feel, well, sorry for him.

It had been two years since she graduated Hogwarts yet over the years the get togethers for holidays didn't change much. Family still gathered, though the guests often changed through the Hogwarts years and now post. Looking around the room often reminded her of the times she had shared with her friends.

Ginny remembered the years when she and her friends laid bets on who would end up with who for that month, and more importantly, who would end up married to who. It never failed that Hermione Granger stumped the lot of them.

To the untrained eye, like Patil, it seemed inevitable that Hermione would end up with Ron. Ginny figured she would be a very rich woman if she had a knut for every time someone mentioned the obvious passion between them, but Ginny always knew that the relationship would go nowhere. Well, nowhere pleasant.

Then again maybe it was because she knew Hermione so well, and Ginny knew what she needed before Hermione really did. Hermione was brilliant to the point of annoyance sometimes, so there was no way a relationship that required her to fight and argue all the time was going to work. Even at Hogwarts Ron and Hermione's arguments over the smallest things were legendary. No, Hermione needed to be taken care of. Not that she would ever admit it, but people expected Hermione to always be in control of every situation.

Ginny imagined that her friend would crack eventually if she was always required to be the thoughtful one in a relationship, the responsible one, the one who had to take charge to get the relationship anywhere past hand holding.

Sadly, Ginny knew that described her brother to a tee. Not that there was anything wrong with him, but it was those reasons that Ginny never placed money on the couple. So, she had waited until she had a decent bet to make.

Then had come the triwizard tournament and Ginny knew she had been right all along. Not that she gloated or anything, well, at least not out loud.

While Ron sulked and became loud, there was Viktor Krum standing in the shadows. Ginny watched it all unfold with pleasure, since she knew she had been right.

Maybe it was that Viktor was older, maybe it was that he was more mature, or maybe Ginny thought, it was the fact he didn't speak much English, but he played his cards right.

Ginny noticed when he started haunting the library. He watched her friend covertly for months. So much time went by that Ginny had started to lose faith in him. Had started thinking he was exactly like all the other boys, clowns.

One day though Ginny watched with glee as he separated himself from the Durmstrang men and made his move. With out a single syllable out of place, he asked her best friend to the ball. Ginny remembered almost laughing aloud at Hermione's expression. It had shocked her friend silly. However instead of getting flustered Viktor had waited. His patience as a seeker clearly shining through and almost a full minute later Hermione seemed to process the moment and give whispered yes to the king of quidditch.

One could say the rest was history but it wasn't. The couple had their moments over the coming months, but it was over those months while Ron sulked and brooded, Viktor shined.

Her friend was quite literally swept off her feet. Sure Viktor couldn't keep up mentally with Hermione, but then again not many could. He cooked her dinner in the Hogwarts kitchen though, the muggle way. Which although Ginny didn't see the specialness, Hermione had floated on air for a week that Viktor had taken the time to find her favorites and make them himself. He taught Hermione how to enjoy easy rides on a broom, ones without the dare devil stunts he pulled in matches. Which was deemed romantic even by the cynics of Hogwarts. He even taught her to dance, when Hermione admitted she didn't know how and that she wasn't exactly the most graceful person in the world. Viktor was all patience, and come Yule Ball, the couple shined on the dance floor.

Viktor gave her friend's life a new dimension, an uncomplicated drama free dimension, and that was what won him the girl.

Now years later Viktor was still the steadfast man he had always been with Hermione. He was brutally protective over her, so much so the press in Bulgaria left the couple alone. Viktor, Ginny often noted with approval took things in stride. Even Ron's constant glaring made no impact on him. Viktor didn't require any placating, and could now hold his own in any conversation now… in English. Of course now it wasn't really necessary since Hermione, being Hermione, started learning Bulgarian during fourth year. Seriously, Bulgarian. It was sometimes disgusting just how fast that brain of hers worked, Ginny decided.

Many thought Viktor was to boring for Hermione but then again who would want to have to argue the rest of their lives. Fight for decisions at every turn. Frankly the idea was exhausting, and would probably turn a girl prematurely gray to Ginny way of thinking.

So as she watched the whole family interact, she knew she had placed her school bet correctly. And after tonight, she thought with a grin and looked over at Hermione's sparkling diamond ring and smug smiling Bulgarian fiancé, she had a lot of money to collect.

1000 galleons on that Bulgarian a few years ago, was going to pay off big!


End file.
